Here it is, my last Dance Marathon on the Rutgers Campus. It honestly feels like just yesterday when I was attending the first iteration of the marathon in 2013. I’ve learned so much since then, about myself and my photography. I’ve learned that the only way to improve is to branch out and try different things. Get off-campus; photograph things that I care about. It’s the physicality of actually getting out and just “shooting for fun” amidst all the other things going on in life that I find very difficult. But it seems like I’m going to have to make that change if I ever want to work in photojournalism. It’s a hurdle that I am ready to take on. I no longer want to be a Rutgers photographer, but a full-time independent photojournalist.

At first I thought that this must be a joke: “Underwater basket weaving”? Who in their right mind would want to weave baskets (let alone under water)? But what I found was something so intriguing and interesting that I really got caught up in the process. Photographing this type of event is difficult as everything is, well, underwater! This was where the Go Pro came in handy and really made covering this event tons of fun!

I had the opportunity of working with the local ROTC unit here at Rutgers University to document one of their training missions. Every Friday morning the unit treks around all five campuses to collect intel about enemy positions. They follow strict instructions from officers about how to contact these individuals and must deal with “curve balls” dealt to them throughout the mission. In this specific mission, soldiers were not allowed to cross main roads and had to hike through forested areas of campus to get to their objective.

This photo essay was also featured on I Am Rutgers, an online student magazine that focuses on student involvement on campus.